Easy Cranberry Pecan Sourdough

This Easy Cranberry Pecan Sourdough is a flavorful twist on classic sourdough, packed with tart dried cranberries and crunchy pecans. With its chewy crust, soft crumb, and hint of natural sweetness, it’s perfect for toasting, snacking, or serving at holiday tables!

Adding Inclusions to Sourdough

Sourdough is delicious, all by itself. But there’s something really lovely about adding mix-ins to the base recipe. That’s exactly what I decided to do here. A friend of mine posted on social media that she had just eaten some cranberry pecan sourdough bread. Her post triggered something in me. I love craisins in bread. (My cranberry pistachio bread is a personal favorite.) But I’ve never used Craisins in sourdough before. The idea intrigued me. 

I just happened to have a tiny bag of chopped pecans, (and, as luck would have it, I was already planning to bake my one-day sourdough loaf today) so I decided to dive in and make this cranberry pecan sourdough. 

Easy Cranberry Pecan Sourdough Ingredients

You will find a full printable recipe card at the bottom of this post. But here’s a quick peek at what you’ll need. These are simple ingredients you probably have on hand already. 

• 350 grams water
• 100 grams sourdough starter (active)
• 500 grams all purpose flour (or bread flour)
• 10 grams salt
• ⅔ cup chopped pecans
• ⅔ cup dried cranberries (Craisins)

You will also need a kitchen scale, a dutch oven, and a bread whisk (or something similar) to mix the dough. 

How to Make Cranberry Pecan Sourdough

This is a two-day process. Let’s start with the first day: 

DAY ONE: 

Feed (activate) your starter. Place it in a warm spot and let it sit for 4-5 hours until it doubles in size. If you’re unsure, drop a pinch of starter into some water and see if it floats. 

Make your dough: Measure out water and add the starter. Stir well with the bread whisk until they are fully incorporated. 

Add salt and flour. Mix until you have a shaggy dough. 

Cover with plastic wrap or tea towel and set aside for one hour. 

After one hour it’s time for stretch and folds. This is when you’ll add the craisins and chopped pecans. You’ll need to repeat this process four times, 30 minutes apart. If you’re unsure how to stretch and fold, rest easy! It’s a simple process. Just wet your hands and reach down to grab the dough. Pull up as high as you can and drop toward the center. Turn the bowl a quarter turn and repeat. Keep going until you’ve stretched and folded all of it. I suggest adding the craisins and pecans before you begin so you can fully incorporate them. Cover the bowl between stretch and folds. 

After four rounds of stretch and folds, cover and rest for 4-5 hours (no longer than five).

Shape into a loaf. I stretch out my dough into a rectangle, then fold It envelope style. 

After that, I roll it up and work it into a circular loaf. 

Place in a lightly floured banneton. 

Cover and place in refrigerator overnight. 

DAY TWO:

The following morning preheat oven to 500 degrees Fahrenheit with empty dutch oven inside. 

After one hour reduce the temperature to 450 degrees then flip the refrigerated dough out onto a piece of crinkled parchment paper. 

Score the bread with a lame, razor blade, or sharp knife (like a paring knife).

Using oven mitts (and a great amount of caution) remove the lid of the dutch oven and gently ease the loaf and parchment paper inside. 

Drop four ice cubes into the dutch oven under the paper. (Use care to drop them one by one in different places.) 

Put the lid back on and bake for 20 minutes. 

Remove lid and bake for 20 more minutes. 

Remove pan from oven and place on wire rack to cool. 

After a few minutes, carefully lift the paper and place the loaf directly on a wire rack to continue cooling. 

Let the loaf cool for at least an hour (preferably longer) before slicing. Use a good bread knife. 

Serve and enjoy! 

Store leftovers in an airtight container like a ziplock bag. Make absolutely sure it’s 100% cooled before storing. 

What to Expect from this Sourdough Loaf

I loaded up my loaf with so much goodness, y’all. It was chocked full of craisins and pecans, which gave the bread sweetness and crunch. I absolutely adored the combination. The nutty flavor of the pecans, the tart sweetness of the cranberries. . .perfection! 

Variations to this Recipe

I’m hesitant to change this up because I loved it so much, but I think a few other variations might be equally as good. So, here are my best suggestions: 

Pistachios in place of pecans: I have a cranberry pistachio bread already, as I mentioned above, but it’s not sourdough. So, you could turn this into cranberry-pistachio, if you like.

Cherry and Chocolate: I’ve been on a roll making “Black Forest” treats (including a new banana bread recipe). I love to use dried cherries (that look just like Craisins) and miniature chocolate chips. Now, I’ve never used chocolate chips in sourdough so I’m not sure how it would turn out. You might have to use larger chocolate chunks instead of minis, (my usual chip size). 

Cherry-Walnut Bread: Try dried cherries with chopped walnuts. I’m guessing that flavor combination would be delicious! 

Other Artisan Breads from Out of the Box Baking

• Homemade Sourdough
• Same Day Sourdough
• Rustic Artisan Bread
• Irish Soda Bread

That’s it for this post, friends!

I hope you enjoyed this delicious recipe. 

If you make this recipe and love it, don’t forget to leave a review and a comment below. And while you're at it, go ahead and pin some photos to your Pinterest boards!

Loved this recipe? Get more like it straight to your inbox. Sign up for our newsletter now!

About the Author

Janice Thompson is an author, baker, and all-around mischief maker! She has overcome a host of baking catastrophes, including a toppled wedding cake, to learn more about the baking process. Janice has published over 165 books for the Christian market but particularly enjoys writing recipes and baking devotions. To learn more about Janice or to drop her a note, visit her About the Author page.